Surviving Dinner – [Heartier] Chicken Noodle Soup

Lots of recipes claim they can be cooked in 20 minutes or less. Some nights are so busy, even that’s too long. “Surviving Dinner” is a series that is not about good wifeing, mothering, or cooking. It’s about surviving. It’s for those nights when you’re tempted to write “fast food” on the menu, but cooking at home will save you a few dollars, a few hundred calories, and loads of mommy-guilt. Recipes found here can be cooked quickly and have minimal prep and clean-up. Some may require a little pre-planning, but many won’t.

What’s the best part of chicken noodle soup? The noodles, of course! No matter how “hearty” those canned varieties claim to be they just don’t quite cut it in my book. This exceptionally simple soup becomes meal-worthy by incorporating condensed cream of chicken to add richness to the broth along with all the perfectly cooked noodles your heart desires. Sorry, Progresso. I won’t be back.

Survival Menu:

Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

8 cups chicken broth

2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped carrot

2 cloves minced garlic

1-2 T parsley

2 tsp chives

salt & pepper to taste

egg noodles

1. Combine all ingredients EXCEPT noodles in your crock-pot. In case you happened to notice, I halved the recipe when I was making it on the particular night that I was also taking photos.

2. You know the drill – high for 4 hours or low for 8. I personally find that meat gets much more tender on the low & slow option.

3. When you get home from work cook the noodles in salted water according to package directions. Drain and rinse.

4. While waiting for the noodles to cook, remove the chicken breasts from the crock-pot. Shred them and return the chicken to the soup.

5. Fill bowls with noodles and spoon the soup over them. When packaging up leftovers keep the noodles and soup separate – don’t combine them until after you re-heat. This gives you perfectly cooked noodles in your soup and solves the unfortunate problem of mushy, over-cooked noodles in your leftovers. Delish!